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Facebook is starting to reveal the scope of its new token and how things are being set up. This is a game changer for the world of money. It is going to be fun to watch the process unfold.
For some reason, this put a lot of fear in people. Many feel that Facebook's move will mean the end for cryptocurrency. On the contrary, I am going to show how the exact opposite is true.
So let us look at this from a few different angles.
The Good
There is going to be a lot of good that comes out of this.
To start, cryptocurrency, the second that Facebook releases this, is instantly validated. No longer is it something for the geeks and anarchists. Cryptocurrency is entering mainstream. Some of the world's largest financial corporations are paying to be a part of this. Names like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal are ponying up $10 million to set up nodes. This move has a lot of force behind it.
More importantly, Facebook is going after the unbanked. This is vital to the freedom of humanity. Over 5 billion people are considered unbanked or underbanked. What this means is they do not have access to reliable banking services. No matter how corrupt things are, the western banking system is fairly stable. This is not true in many parts of the world.
This is also going to provide those people with a stable currency. One of the big problems with the present system is that many central banks/governments obliterate their currency at the expense of the populous. Tremendous wealth is lost (confiscated) through this. Venezuela is the latest example of what we see take place so often.
Finally, Facebook is going to introduce the masses to cryptocurrency. This is huge. How often have to tried to tell someone about a blockchain application only to have to then delve into what cryptocurrency is and how it works? Ultimately, you get something like "oh like Bitcoin". If your experience is like mine, you end up throwing up your hands and saying "forget it".
The Bad
Make no mistake about this, it is a centralized system. What Facebook is doing is taking on the banking system. It is the reason why we see so many banking entities signing on.
People attack DPOS as a system that can be easily taken over because you only need to get the 21 Witnesses to agree. While that is true, when you have people from all over the world, it can be tough to do as an outside force.
Facebook's system will have 100 node providers. You would think this is more decentralized. In theory, it is. Until you look at the fact of who those providers are. How hard is it to get financial institutions to agree in screwing people over? It is common practice for them.
What we are going to see is an alternate banking system set up which allows many of the same entities to remain in control. If you are a conspiracy theorist (or one who just does not trust what the mainstream is telling you), what is happening is pretty obvious. The Facebook coin is not about freedom or to the benefit of humanity.
It is being put into place to tighen the control mechanism around the masses.
The Ugly (for them)
This is going to end up in a train wreck. Bitcoin was created as a result of the games the bankers played. Now, they are trying their best to hold onto a system they are looking at losing control over. Their attempts to destroy Bitcoin, primarily, have failed. That system keeps expanding and growing. Despite all the FUD, people are turning to it, especially in those areas where the governments are so overtly corrupt they are destroying all wealth.
Facebook is the epitome of a company that is completely fails in the trust department. At the core of cryptocurrency is the built in trust that comes from blockchain. This is not present in the Facebook system. While Mastercard and Visa might be more trusted than Facebook, they are still third party entities that are part of the systemic corruption that we are presently operating under.
Finally, we are looking at "surveillance capitalism" being taken to an even larger extreme. How are people going to feel when they find out that every transaction is followed by the authorities? Wait until people start getting letters from wonderful entities like the IRS telling them how they omitted something on their returns. The alphabet entities are going to track all transactions meaning that the masses are going to give up even more information than they do now.
The Optimism
This is going to take a while to unfold because the masses are going to flock to Facebook's stablecoin thinking they are being given something. It will take a while for people to realize they were suckered once again.
My feeling is that this entire deal is only going to enhance decentralized systems. Bitcoin will most likely be one to benefit the most. While Facebook is global, it is still controlled. It is a token without limit that can be inflated at any time (sounds like fiat doesn't it?). Traditional financial firms are jumping on board because this is the last chance to stop what cryptocurrency is doing to their industry. They are desperate to maintain control.
Many cite the fact that only about 1% of Bitcoin transactions are for purchases. They obviously do not understand simple exponential growth. 1% tends to move towards 2% which becomes 4%...and so on.
The truth is that there is no need for companies like Visa, Mastercard, or PayPal. For the most part, we do not need banks such as JPM and Goldman. A lot of what the present system offers, with build out, can be offered via cryptocurrency. By its very nature, it is a remittance system that can take place anywhere in the world.
Facebook could help in taking out the present system of banking and governments. It already is a de facto government without borders. By creating a token, it is providing itself with its own currency which to conduct commerce. This removes the need for much of the fiat around the world.
Of course, with the present path we are on, many feel that a lot of the fiat will collapse. If the forecasts are correct and the next recession is even worse than the last one, governments and central banks will lose trust. Facebook is going to provide people with another, albeit not much better, option.
I predict this will only drive the development on decentralized products and services even more. There are many who are aware of what I am writing. I expect to see a lot of decentralized exchanges popping up over the next few years. These will offer an alternative to the KYC and AML that is being pushed.
We are also going to see millions of millionaires created through cryptocurrency projects. This is going to create a powerful force of anti-Libra people. As our numbers swell, and they will with people being introduced to crypto, power will be wrestled away. Just like the establishment is displacing content creators, it is going to do the same thing with this. These entities simply cannot help themselves.
At the end of the day, these people will not have any more success running the economy using "cryptocurrency" than they did with Fiat. The same wolves are running they show and they will use this platform to enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else. This is simply how they operate.
In the end, it is not going to be pretty for them.
Our path is simple: keep creating and developing to offer an alternative system to the alternative system Facebook is implementing which is really just the same system as we have.
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